


Cupid

by whimsicallyaesthetic



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: First Crush, Fluff, Highschool shenanigans, Hilarity Ensues, M/M, Rom com tropes, they r gen z, will update tags if stuff ever gets spicy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:15:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28684689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicallyaesthetic/pseuds/whimsicallyaesthetic
Summary: A new student arrives from Egypt. Everyone is intrigued, including Yugi.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

Yugi was never one to gossip. He only ever listened to gossip, and participated when necessary. Like when hanging out with his friends, or texting with them, or whenever anybody ever forced him into a conversation, or bothered to listen to him speak.

So, in truth, Yugi did like to gossip, as much as any other third year student. But he would never admit to it. He was just “keeping up with things.” At least, that’s what he told himself. 

As he made his way to his classroom for the beginning of the school day, he met Anzu’s eyes from across the room. The look she gave him could only mean one thing. Something big had happened. Yugi was unsurprised, because she usually got word of things before he did. He was only slightly taken aback. Because interesting things rarely happened in January. 

Despite living in one of the biggest cities in the country, close to Tokyo in number of citizens, things tended to move slower during the winter. Despite Domino city being home to some of the craziest people in the world, though Yugi was biased in that thought, he expected a quiet beginning to the year. 

But life in the city would never disappoint. 

As soon as the lecture started, Yugi slipped his phone from his pocket to underneath his desk. In his peripheral vision, he could see Anzu doing the same. And if he was lucky, his other friends would follow suit soon enough. 

“u will not believe this shit” -A

Anzu texted the group chat. Jonouchi replied faster than Yugi could.

“what” -J

“didn’t everyone hear about the new transfer student????” -A

Yugi almost rolled his eyes. This was the thing she was trying to say to him through wide eyes and telepathy across the classroom? He barely registered it as news.

“Well when did they transfer?” -Y

Yugi inquired.

“today” -A

Yugi sighed inaudibly, how was he supposed to know if they transferred today? He swore sometimes that Anzu had psychic powers. Unless the school announced it, which they rarely did, he doesn’t understand how she could have possibly known.

“guy or girl” -H

Of course Honda would have to ask that.

“guy” -A

“then idc” -H

Yugi snorted. He whipped his head up in panic, hoping his teacher hadn’t noticed. Luckily she hadn’t. So he went back to the conversation. Which had already progressed even in his short absence. 

“you will care!! He’s finna have a harem soon mark my words” -A

“competition doesnt bother me” -H

“now thats a lie if ive ever heard one” -J

“stfu” -H

Yugi pondered for a moment. They lived in a pretty big city, and their school wasn’t particularly private. Basically anyone could get in. They had transfer students from time to time without Anzu shitting her pants over it. What makes this one so special? 

“Dude, why is this a big deal?” -Y

“well first off girls r starting to take notice” -A  
“and for good reason, he’s super hot” -A

Yugi rolled his eyes for the second time in the past five minutes. This was getting him nowhere. 

“Ok???” -Y

“well ok i also heard that he doesn’t speak Japanese. At all.” -A

“LMAOOOO” -J

“so much for competition” -H

“damn bruh” -J

The conversation naturally petered out on its own. Yugi slipped his phone back into the pocket of his school uniform. He tapped his fingers idly on his desk, all the while thinking about the fate of the transfer student. He felt bad for the poor guy, without even meeting him. Being hot could only get you so far in highschool, he was bound to hit roadblocks without a basic understanding of the Japanese vernacular. 

Yugi stared at his teacher, without really paying attention. They were only a few months away from graduation, and he was already feeling lazy. Winter break hadn’t been nearly long enough. 

\-----------

How very, very, wrong Yugi had been about the transfer student. He was an instant hit with his peers, guys and girls alike. Much to Yugi's surprise. 

Anzu was right of course, about the girls flocking to him. But what nobody expected was the guys. Yugi shared gym and math with the transfer student. Who’s name he had come to learn was Atem. 

It didn’t take Yugi long to understand why all the guys liked him, he was amazing at sports. Unlike Yugi who practically had an asthma attack anytime he was asked to run. Today they were playing basketball for some unknown reason. It confounded him how playing games could earn him a grade. But he was rarely one to voice his questions.

Yugi also learned very early on that Anzu had gotten some of her intel wrong. He could speak Japanese, just not well.

He had never been able to test this, as he hadn’t actually spoken to the transfer student in the week since he’d first arrived. But he figured at some point he’d be able to. They shared the same gym and math class after all. For now, he really had to focus on the game at hand. 

Yugi knew there was strategy to sports, as there was with board games, and video games. But he’d be damned if he ever learned them. All he did was run around the court hoping to not get hit in the face by the ball. Or anywhere else particularly fragile. 

He wasn’t so lucky today though. As he tried to catch a pass made to him, the ball slipped past his fingers and knocked him square in the jaw. It bounced off him and into the hands of a different team mate. Who went on to score a point. In some sick twist of fate, Yugi earned his first assist that way. Though the ache in his jaw was too strong to allow him to rejoice in this miracle. He tagged out with Honda, and went to sit with Anzu and Jonouchi on the side lines. 

“Damn that got you pretty good huh?” Jonouchi asked, with a twinge of humor in his voice. 

“You know I could hear you guys laughing, right?” Yugi pouted, nursing a bruising jaw. 

Jonouchi slung an arm around Yugi’s shoulder. “Don’t worry dude, we were laughing with you, not at you.” He winked at Yugi.

Yugi sighed, accepting his fate as the worst basketball player in the building as the ache in his jaw slowly started to worsen somehow. Just his luck.

“You better pray when the American football unit rolls around.” Jonouchi said without an ounce of empathy in his voice.

Yugi dreaded any and every sport. But especially the gladiatorial ones.

“Well you’d make a good ball.” Anzu chimes in. Yugi blushed slightly, more so because of the jab at his height, not at his athletic ability. Yugi had accepted all parts of himself after being bullied relentlessly over the years. He was now ok with joking about his insecurities with his friends. There were rarely any lines they wouldn’t cross when making fun of each other. And in a weird way, he was thankful for that. 

He supposed it was just part of growing up.

He soon parted ways with his friends. Off to his final class of the day. 

He took his seat without incident. And his teacher began the lesson soon after. Yugi really couldn’t afford to slack off for this class. So he pulled out his notebook and some pencils, and got to work taking notes. Yugi couldn’t rely on natural talent to get him through the class. This was higher level stuff, he couldn’t afford to slack off like he did in some of his other classes. Especially with finals and graduation right around the corner in a few months. 

He scribbled notes furiously in his book for the first half of the class. Trying to keep up the best he could. Eventually, his teacher concluded the lecture. He let out a sigh of relief as he closed his notebook for the time being. All the while massaging a cramp he got from writing.

Math really does suck. 

“I’m going to go ahead and assign this project now. You have until finals week to complete it. Considering I’m being so kind and letting you get a head start, I would recommend actually working on it now, and not last minute.”

The teacher explained the project in grotesque detail. It was a real doozy, and Yugi was not looking forward to it. He then moved on to announcing partners. Which was the real kicker. Not only was this a good portion of his grade, he’d also have to rely on someone else to actually work on the project. Gone were the days when Yugi could be pushed around. He no longer allowed people to force him to do all the work. 

All simmering anger was gone the moment the teacher announced who Yugi would be working with. Instead replaced with something more akin to dread. 

Yugi was looking forward to speaking with Atem at some point, but he in no way shape or form wanted to get in the middle of whatever harem the kid had going on. He glanced around the room, seeing some of the girls stare daggers at him. And some of the guys for that matter.

He really couldn’t catch a break today. 

As soon as the teacher was finally done with instructions, everyone got up to rearrange themselves. Once everyone was sitting with their respective partners, the work could begin. Yugi shuffled over to Atem, and plopped into a seat next to him. Feeling a bit forlorn, but not wanting to show it on his face. 

He turned to his partner, feeling it best to introduce himself. 

“Nice to meet you, my name is Yugi Mutou. You can just call me Yugi though.” Yugi preferred to skip past all the formalities of last names. And he figured Atem likely didn’t know or care about the Japanese honorific system, so it seemed like a moot point to begin with. 

“Nice to meet you Yugi. My name is Atem.” Atem offered Yugi a stunning smile. But Yugi couldn’t help raising his eyebrows at the lack of a last name. He decided it’d be best to not question it though.

Yugi shuffled through his school supplies, looking for his notes. He figured they would be helpful. Especially considering he’s been in this class the entire year. And Atem has not. 

The quiet soon became awkward. Yugi tried to think of something to say.

“I’m sorry, I can’t quite place your accent?” He finally blurted out.

“No worries. I’m from Egypt.” Right, that made sense. Considering his complexion. But it still didn’t explain why he was here, in Domino city of all places. Yugi opened his mouth to voice his other curiosity, but was cut short by a warm hand lightly touching his face. 

Atem only brushed his fingers over Yugi’s jaw, but it was enough to leave Yugi at a loss for words.

“Why this?” Atem asked curiously. Brows furrowed in obvious confusion. 

Yugi laughed awkwardly as Atem finally removed his hand from his face. “I got hit in the face with a ball in gym class today.” He supposed he was thankful that Atem hadn’t seen him as it happened, considering it was pretty embarrassing.

Atems eyes widened in understanding. “So that was you.” 

Or maybe not.

“Yep, yours truly.” Yugi looked away briefly, suddenly not feeling the need for eye contact at that exact moment. He was tired, and just wanted to go home. 

Atem, apparently satisfied with the reasoning for bruising, smiled brightly at Yugi.

“Yugi, you must be much careful in the future.” 

Yugi blushed faintly, embarrassed despite his better judgement. He got beat up in gym class a lot. This wasn’t really anything new. 

“I’ll try to be more careful in the future.” He conceded.

They laid the foundation for the project on graph paper. And exchanged numbers, promising to discuss further; once they had brainstormed more ways to really knock the project out of the park. 

Yugi left school feeling quizzical, yet strangely hopeful.


	2. Chapter 2

Time passed uneventfully, as it usually does. 

Until the exact moment when things started to become eventful again. 

Yugi was beginning to feel like he couldn’t escape it. 

Just a few moments ago, Atem had made his way from one of the various other classrooms down the hall, to his classroom; and plopped in an empty seat across from Yugi. Much to the surprise of everyone. His companions could find no response to the bizarre situation. A rarity, as they usually like to run their mouths. 

Yugi looked around, nervous if anybody was paying attention. And of course they were. It wasn’t even unusual for students to go to other classes to eat lunch. Yugi knew why everyone cared though, and it had to do with the person now sitting across from him. He couldn’t help but wonder if Atem enjoyed the attention. Or if he was just too polite to tell people to fuck off. Yugi couldn’t blame him. He often fell victim to fits of shyness around groups of people. A habit he had been struggling to kick for a few years now.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Honda was the first to recover. Brilliant as ever, he tentatively asked a question.

“So uh, hey dude. What brings you here?” Honda laughed nervously. Obviously baffled by the situation. As far as Yugi knew, none of them had met yet. Aside from himself. But he figured that Anzu gossiped enough that both Jonouchi and Honda had been filled in. 

Atem had a blank look on his face. Yugi recognized it as one he himself would wear when not understanding something.

Atem recovered quickly. “Yes dude.” He paused. Seemingly searching for words. “I did not have a good place to eat lunch. And I recognize you two from basketball.” He gestured towards Jonouchi and Anzu. Who’s shocked faces quickly morphed into understanding ones. They gave each other a knowing sidelong glance.

He must be talking about gym class. It still doesn’t explain why he’s here though. Yugi peeked at the door again, and noticed a few curious faces looking back at him. Well, not at him, but his company.

Atem went on to explain his predicament, occasionally fumbling a word here or there. Though it was barely noticeable. Yugi wondered if he was improving, or had just never been that bad in the first place. Not that it particularly mattered. 

From his explanation, it would seem that he didn’t enjoy the company of hoards of teenage girls (and guys for that matter) as much as Yugi had anticipated. He couldn’t say he blamed him for wanting to get away. But in doing so, he brought the hoard here. Well, not directly here. They weren’t in the classroom yet. Just the threshold. 

Yugi tuned Atem out as he introduced himself to his friends. They had the same questions for him as Yugi did, and presumably everyone else in this school. Yugi was starting to feel bad for the guy. He knew it couldn’t be easy to be a new student. Let alone a foreign exchange student. But Atem kept a placid smile on despite the questioning.

Conversation came naturally to the five of them. Yugi had been worried that it might be awkward. Considering the different social standings of the group. But his friends were able to conduct themselves in a way that didn’t make Yugi want to throw himself off a building. And for that, he was grateful. 

Ryuji eventually entered the classroom wearing a blank expression. But Yugi had known him for long enough to understand that there was curiosity buried beneath the surface. He briefly exchanged introductions with Atem before sitting within the makeshift circle the group had formed with their desks. 

“Well it’s finalized. I got a tournament set up for Sunday.” He announced, breaking the lingering silence since his arrival.

That piqued Yugi’s interest immediately. With the winter holiday over, they hadn't been to a tournament since last year. Last year being only a handful of days ago. 

Nonetheless it was exciting. Living in domino city meant there was never any shortage of places to duel. Or play any other game for that matter. There was a district in domino city that specialized in tabletop gaming. Similar to how any other major city might have a district for video games. Not that they didn’t have that, Yugi just didn’t frequent it as much. 

Yugi was afraid that at some point people would give up on real games altogether. Yugi liked video games as much as the next person, but nothing really beat a board game, or a card game, or a roleplaying game. He wasn’t particularly picky. 

Ryuji’s father owned a popular game shop in the area, that just so happened to host local tournaments for duel monsters, along with spaces for people to play whatever other games they wanted to. At first Yugi was jealous of the competition impeding his grandfather's shop. But he soon got over himself, and would participate in the tournaments when he could. 

Yugi listened absentmindedly as his friends excitedly chatted about the upcoming Sunday tournament. 

Before he knew it, lunch was over. Not that he had to leave the classroom, this was his class after all. But he would have to help put the desks where they originally were. He got to work immediately, taking care to set his desk down gently, so as to not scratch the wooden floor.

Anzu tapped Yugi on the shoulder. He glanced over at her, and noted her devilish smile. Which instantly made Yugi defensive. 

“What is it, Anzu?” He didn’t want to know the answer. But he asked anyway. 

“Look what I got!” She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously, shoving her phone in Yugi’s face. It had a pink case, with an unfamiliar cartoon bear charm hanging from a strap. He moved his gaze to the screen. It was a messaging screen from an unknown number. 

Yugi sighed. “I don’t know that number.” For which he received a light smack on the head.

“Not that. Look at the messages.” Anzu rolled her eyes, but Yugi wasn’t paying attention. Already focused on the messages on screen. 

“thx for giving me your number lemme know if it goes through” -A

“No worries. I got your message fine.” -???

“sweet also do you wanna go to the tournament on sunday? i totally forgot to ask before you left lol” -A

“I would love to go. I’m excited to learn this cities culture.” -???

Ah. Yugi didn’t recognize the number at first, but after reading a few messages, he could probably take a guess. 

Wait a minute.

“YOU INVITED HIM?” Yugi exclaimed a little too loudly. He got odd looks from the students just starting to file back into the classroom. Yugi felt himself flush from embarrassment, but he wasn’t about to let Anzu off the hook yet. He found it strange enough that Atem would want to join them for lunch. But inviting him to a lame-ass game shop was just too much in his opinion. 

Anzu huffed. “Did you even read it all?” 

Yugi stilled momentarily. No, he hadn’t. He figured he may as well read the rest before laying into Anzu fully. 

“sweet! i’ll text u the location later” -AN

“I look forward to it. I enjoy games of all kinds.” -AT

“🥰” -AN

Huh? Well that was surprising. He didn’t peg Atem for the gaming type. But to be fair, he didn’t seem like he had much of a personality at all when Yugi first met him. Yugi almost felt bad, for judging a stranger so quickly. But his guilt couldn’t last long, as realization hit him full force. 

Had Atem cemented himself into their friend group? 

\----

The answer was yes, he had. At first Yugi thought it was strange, but he ultimately chalked it up to a cultural difference. As he did with most things he found strange about Atem. 

As the days went by, he didn’t mind Atem’s presence anymore. It used to put him on edge, not because Atem himself was a bad guy, but because of the company he usually kept, voluntarily or not. After he started to stick around Yugi’s group, his harem slowly dispersed. 

One day, as Yugi and Atem were leaving the school, Yugi realized something that he didn’t quite understand. 

Sure Atem was basically a part of their friend group, and he was so much more of a nerd then Yugi could have expected. He evidently grew up playing all the games Yugi and his friends did, and possibly more. 

But the thing that really surprised him was; since when did it become a habit for Atem to walk him to his locker? To be fair, everyone's locker was at the front of the school. They had to make their way to the front if they wanted to leave with their outdoor shoes. 

Atem would usually wait for Yugi outside of his classroom. They would then make their way to the lockers, then to the front gate, where they would both part ways. It’s not that Yugi wasn’t grateful for the company, because he was. He was just curious as to when exactly it became a habit for the both of them, and why. 

Yugi decided not to worry about it too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Every romantic comedy should just be called Trying to Fuck. ‘This week, Jennifer Aniston and this guy are Trying to Fuck. Next week, Jennifer Aniston and this guy are Trying to Fuck. Will they fuck? Probably.’”  
> —Patton Oswalt
> 
> I have no clue what I’m doing !😃


End file.
